Counterfeit Gallery

Cohiba

The Dominican Cohiba from General Cigar Holdings Inc. employs a typeface that's similar to the Cuban version, but there's no confusing the two. The word "Cohiba" is centered evenly in the cream-colored background between the thick black borders on the top and bottom. A registered trademark sign appears to the upper right of the "A", denoting General's ownership of the brand in the United States. (The Cuban government owns it elsewhere.) The "Cohiba" lettering is raised, and the hole of the "O" is colored military red. A matching red square covers the right side, with "HAND MADE" printed in thin block letters. A printer's mark appears on the left-hand side of the band.

Note: General altered the Cohiba band soon after it was introduced in September 1997. The first generation had a red oval, not a square, on the right side. General executives said recently that they plan to continue tinkering with the band design, possibly dropping the words "Hand Made" and adding a line indicating the brand's Dominican origin.

Counterfeit purchased in the Dominican Republic

This poor fake from the Dominican Republic is way off. The black borders are too thin, the red square is too narrow, and, though you can't tell online, the paper's too thin. The lettering is flat, not raised. The black is too dull and the background color is stark white, not cream. Finally, the splash of red in the "O" looks like it was filled in by a four-year-old who can't color within the lines.

Counterfeit from an anonymous source:

This obvious fake is intended to look like a genuine Cuban Cohiba band, but with claims of a Dominican origin. Aside from this glaring mistake, the four rows of white dots on the black background are spaced too far apart and should be squares, not dots. This band actually mimics the look of pre-1994 Cuban Cohibas, albeit with the blocked words "Republica Dominicana" on the bottom. The counterfeiters were probably trying to sell this cigar as a legitimate Dominican Cohiba. The only Cohiba that may be legally sold in the United States is the version by General Cigar Co., in which the hole of the "O" is colored red. Anything else infringes on General Cigar Co.'s trademark to sell Cohibas in the United States.